Thomas Paine & the Corporatist State

I went for a bike ride the other day, not a long one, only about 12 miles or so. These rides, or runs, depending on what mood suits me give me time to think. Usually there is no order to my thoughts, only a series of misshappen ramblings leading from one thing to another. I am not privy to the inner workings of the human mind. My knowledge of the human brain and how it works is limited to what any grade schooler might have learned about the triumvirate of Mr. Cerebellum, Mrs. Cerebrum, and Ms. Medulla. Be that as it may, my mind is full of useless knowledge, mostly facts, dates and various other historical jargon that may be fun to know (at least to me) but will get me nowhere in a world obsessed with acquiring material things. Of course, who am I to make judgement. I accumulate things myself. I need only to look at my library to see all the money spent, or perhaps wasted on books over the years. However, before I veer too far off topic with these philosophical musings I now return to the subject at hand. On this particular bike ride, for some reason or other I began thinking about a slim volume that I picked up at a used bookstore in southern California some 20 odd years ago. The slim volume was really a pamphlet called Common Sense and it was written by an Englishman turned american named Thomas Paine back in 1776.

                                     Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

     Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England in 1737. He was of a humble background, and was a staymaker by trade. A staymaker was a manufacturer of women's clothing. Paine, however, was not suited for this line of work, for he was cut from a different cloth. Early on he developed a thirst for knowledge attending scientific lectures, and reading whatever books he could lay his hands on. Paine emigrated to America in 1774 at a time when the colonies were about to engage in full rebellion against the mother country. He found work at a printer's shop in Philadelphia, and soon engaged his talents in writing seditious articles in favor of the rebellion. Common Sense was published at a time when the members of the Continental Congress were still split on whether or not they should fully sever the umbilical cord with England. After reading Common Sense many of the fence sitters climbed down on the side of the rebellion.

     To me, the most interesting part of Common Sense is when Paine spells out the meaning of what a true democratic state is, along with an explanation of Natural Rights. These days Natural Rights are often ignored or misinterpreted, and the meaning of a true democratic state has seemingly been lost in the intricate web of political parties that are controlled by the corporatist state. To keep the masses in ignorance seems to be the agenda of some as it always has been in the past. Whether this is a conscious effort on the part of some, or merely the natural progression of things is hard to say. I tend to believe that it is a natural progression that has evolved, not from Paine's utopian republic, but from the oligarchy that formed in the United States some years after the separation from Britain. But who am I to say? I am certainly no expert on political matter, nor do I care to be. These are merely observations made by an average bloke. I do not want to sound the least bit didactic, preachy, or arrogant, for in truth I am more interested in what caused this natural progression rather than what can be done about it. The problem is bigness (is this a word?) or largeness (is this a word?) The bigger something is the greater chance that corruption festers.

     In his later life Tom Paine was shunned and cast off from the rest of his old revolutionary cronies. Paine's idea of what america should be was not their idea of what america should be. He died miserable in relative obscurity. So...what would Tom Paine think of his American republic/corporatist oligarchy if he suddenly arose from his preachy tomb 200 years after his death? I don't suppose anyone knows what Paine's response might be. I do, however, know how I would respond. After paying my taxes last year, (federal, state, county, sales etc...etc...) I'll take the crowns 3 pence tax on tea any day of the week!